Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at DA Davidson

DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.46% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stephens began coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Eastern Bankshares in a report on Monday, March 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $23.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Eastern Bankshares from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Eastern Bankshares from $23.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.92.

Eastern Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ EBC opened at $19.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $19.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.70. Eastern Bankshares has a 1 year low of $14.10 and a 1 year high of $22.58.

Eastern Bankshares (NASDAQ:EBC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $295.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $308.68 million. Eastern Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.42% and a net margin of 26.28%. On average, analysts predict that Eastern Bankshares will post 1.88 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Eastern Bankshares

In other Eastern Bankshares news, CFO R David Rosato bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.17 per share, for a total transaction of $95,850.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 45,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $862,650. This trade represents a 12.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eastern Bankshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in EBC. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 38.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,254,000 after buying an additional 54,664 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $954,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 114,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 5,028 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 432,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,091,000 after buying an additional 29,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Eastern Bankshares by 789.9% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 545,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,948,000 after buying an additional 484,277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.68% of the company’s stock.

About Eastern Bankshares

Eastern Bankshares, Inc is the bank holding company for Eastern Bank, one of the oldest and largest mutual banks in the United States. Founded in 1818 as Salem Savings Bank and later rebranded as Eastern Bank in 1989, the company preserved its mutual ownership structure for more than two centuries. In March 2020, it completed an initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker EBC, while continuing to emphasize its community-focused heritage.

Through its primary subsidiary, Eastern Bank, the company delivers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking products.